Sink-or-Swim Robot Race

CNN.com, 11 Aug 2006 As part of the effort, college students were recently invited to build robots that could perform a series of tasks without human control in a 38-foot deep research pool. The culmination, last weekend's International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition, was a sink-or-swim contest. The robots were required to swim through a gate, find and dock with a flashing light box, locate and tag a cracked pipeline, then home in on an acoustic beacon and resurface in a designated recovery zone. Top prize was $7,000 and serious bragging rights. Read more